


The Gumiho and I

by hoonibon (silkengloss)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Flash Fic, Gumiho - Freeform, Huli Jing, Kitsune, M/M, Shaman - Freeform, Supernatural Elements, joseon era, ninetailed fox - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:02:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26942590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silkengloss/pseuds/hoonibon
Summary: Young shaman Jeon Wonwoo is off to his scheduled run for potion ingredients in the nearby mountain when he encounters a curious little creature that changes his life forever.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Wen Jun Hui | Jun
Comments: 8
Kudos: 63
Collections: Challenge 3: Supernatural





	The Gumiho and I

**Author's Note:**

> I could have thought of a better title and summary but I'm pressed for time so here we go.
> 
> Happy reading!

For someone who preferred staying indoors, Wonwoo always looked forward to what he called “scavenging days”.

Shamans made their own schedules to collect fresh ingredients for their potions and medicines. It was an unwritten, unspoken rule, but no two active shamans ever bumped into each other during those days.

This, however, was a particularly difficult year for everyone. Poor harvests threatened to kill off most of the population of Joseon. Rivers ran low. Food was so scarce that Wonwoo couldn’t believe he still managed to keep his stomach filled everyday somehow. He pitied those who could barely get a morsel on their plates. If only he could feed them. Or help them in any way.

Wonwoo hiked up the mountain with his worn-out sack and even more worn-out boots. The ingredients he needed for this specific potion were only found from a specific shrub near the mountain peak. Halfway there, he took a quick break under an apple tree near the trail. 

A sudden rustle from the bushes startled him as he ate his rice ball.

He traded his food for his dagger. The thing was dull and Wonwoo took a second to regret not having sharpened it before leaving the hut. 

“Show yourself!” he commanded. A quiver in his voice betrayed his confidence.

When nothing came out, Wonwoo approached the bushes reluctantly. Risky choice, he thought. But his curiosity always prevailed.

He swept the branches apart using his blunt dagger while silently hoping the thing was only a bird or a shrew. Wonwoo stumbled back when a patch of cream-white fur appeared under the leaves. He poked the patch, unsure of what it was but also ready to stab it to death if it were anything dangerous. 

_Poke_

No movement.

Maybe someone left their fur muffler here?

Wonwoo sheathed his dagger. He pressed his fingers into the fur. It was silk against his skin...if this was what royal silk felt like. 

Tugging the thing out was a struggle. It was either stuck on some thorns or Wonwoo was growing physically weaker as the years went by. And he was only twenty-five. He tugged harder until whatever it was he was pulling came loose. He lost his balance and fell on his butt. 

“How rude of you!” a shrill voice chided him.

Wonwoo looked at the furry ball of white sprawled on the dirt. 

“What—?”

“Didn’t your parents teach you not to pull on other’s body parts?”

The being in front of Wonwoo got up on its four paws. The white creature lifted one and summoned a scroll, an inkwell, and a brush out of thin air.

“What in the heavens—?”

“Alright. What’s your name, handsome?” said the creature. “I need it for recording purposes.”

“J-Jeon Wonwoo—wait what are you doing? What _are_ you?”

“I was named Wen Junhui. I’m a _gumiho_ as you people in this country refer to my species,” the fox said. “I’m also writing your name down so the universe knows you’re cursed.”

Wonwoo shrieked outside of his vocal range. “What do you mean? What did I do?”

“You pulled my tail, handsome. A thousand years cursed for every tail. You’re lucky you only pulled one,” said Junhui, punctuating his sentence with a sharp, toothy grin.

Cursed? For _that_ long?

“I’ll be dead before that’s even lifted!” the shaman exclaimed.

“Exactly! The curse will follow you into the afterlife.”

“So what do I do? How do I get rid of it?”

Junhui smirked, or Wonwoo assumed looked like a smirk on Junhui’s vulpine lips.

“Help me find a few things.”

Wonwoo furrowed his brows. “What things?”

“These things.”

The fox raised one front leg and a pink bubble sprouted from the pads of his paw. The bubble settled into the size of a grapefruit and floated stationary before Junhui’s nose.

“Bubbles like this one here contain a fraction of my power,” he explained. “Unfortunately for me, some nasty shaman took advantage of me and scattered them all over Joseon. Now I’m stuck in this form.”

Wonwoo squinted in confusion. Junhui jumped unceremoniously into his arms and whispered to his ear. The fox’s whiskers tickled his skin.

“You should see me in my true form. I'm absolutely gorgeous!”

Heat spread all over Wonwoo’s cheeks and he dropped him back onto the ground. Junhui landed on all four feet.

“No, really. I’m a _huli jing_ —er, _gumiho_ as you call. I’m supposed to have _nine_ tails. But look,” he wagged his two remaining tails, “and I can shapeshift into my human form, which I can’t do right now. Pity.” Junhui batted his eyelashes at Wonwoo.

Wonwoo sighed. “Fine. I’ll help you. Where do we start?”

“Firstly,” Junhui rubbed his abdomen, “I’m starving. All this place has are fruits and the occasional shrew or two but I’m hungry for some spicy noodles.”

“What’s in it for me?” Wonwoo asked.

“Good fortune and prosperity,” Junhui said confidently. “The usual fare we magical beings offer when we’re grateful for human services.”

 _Don’t trust him. Don’t trust him._ _He’s a_ gumiho _, don’t trust him._

Wonwoo bounced the sack slung on his shoulder. It was empty save for a few flowers and mushrooms. Luck was not much of a friend or an enemy to him. But for all his years as a shaman, he really needed that good luck. 

He opened the sack in front of Junhui.

“Deal. Get in,” he said. “If you’re going to follow me home, you might as well hide here first. I can’t risk the rest of the village seeing a two-tailed cat.”

“ _Fox!_ I’m a fox,” Junhui snarled.

“Whatever. Get in. And keep your head inside.”

Junhui squeezed himself into the woven sack until not a tuft of fur poked out.

* * *

Wonwoo’s original mission for the day was to gather ingredients for a potion. That could wait, he assured himself. For now, he had a strange and annoying two-tailed fox to feed. If he truly was cursed for a thousand years, the potion could wait.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a prompt that has invaded my mind for some time now so I'm glad SnapShot's latest challenge is Supernatural cos that means I finally have a reason to write this! I'm planning to make this a longer fic but let's all just settle for this flash fic for now.
> 
> Thank you for making it this far! Hope you enjoyed reading this. If you have any suggestions to further the plot of this story (because I really just have the prompt and not the plot), please feel free to comment it down. Thanks again!


End file.
